Revenue details J. C. Penney tallied revenue of $2.93 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $3.27 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.99 billion.

Looking ahead Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.55 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.16.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $13.96 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Investor sentiment The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 624 members out of 947 rating the stock outperform, and 323 members rating it underperform. Among 254 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 160 give J. C. Penney a green thumbs-up, and 94 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on J. C. Penney is hold, with an average price target of $27.00.

If you're invested in retailers like J. C. Penney, you should check out the concept that is The Motley Fool's top stock for 2012. Its founder wrote the book on big box retailing, and it's growing in increasingly important international markets. Click here for instant access to this free report.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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